Carboxymethyl cellulose/hyperbranched polysiloxane functionalized mesoporous silica hybrid membranes integrated with...

This work developed carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)/hyperbranched polysiloxane (HBPSi)-functionalized mesoporous silica (MCM-41) hybrid membranes loaded with clindamycin hydrochloride for potential antibacterial wound dressings. A type of hyperbranched polysiloxane (HBPSi) with amino terminal groups was synthesized and grafted onto the surface of the MCM-41 (MCM-41@HBPSi) to fine-tune its properties. Clindamycin hydrochloride was then loaded with MCM-41@HBPSi, which was integrated with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) to form antibacterial hybrid membranes. The results revealed that the MCM-41@HBPSi exhibited higher drug loading capacity than pristine MCM-41 due to the large amount of decorated amino groups. The morphology observation revealed that the surface functionalization could help MCM-41 disperse homogenously in the CMC matrix. The CMC membrane containing 10 wt% MCM-41@HBPSi demonstrated significant enhancement in tensile strength (11.53 MPa) and elongation at break (42.7 %) simultaneously, which is due to the strong hydrogen bonding and uniform dispersion. These CMC hybrid membranes containing MCM-41@HBPSi also showed good antibacterial properties and biocompatibility. The in-vivo wound healing assays confirmed that the CMC/MCM-41@HBPSi hybrid membranes could accelerate the wound closure. This work offers a feasible strategy to fabricate drug-loaded CMC-based antibacterial membranes for advanced wound dressings.